One of the many things that I love about my job as Foreclosure.com Director of Education is to deliver great news!

And that is exactly what I had the opportunity to do last week when we announced the winners of the 2011 Foreclosure.com Scholarship Program. The five winners — one grand prize and four runners up — were selected out of almost 10,000 applicants located throughout the United States. Our $5,000 grand prize winner was a freshman from Parsons — The New School in New York, N.Y., Cindy Clinton.

You can watch the video of our recent conversation above.

Cindy is a delightful, smart and witty woman who I enjoyed interviewing. She mentioned that she had seen our scholarship on FastWeb.com and had made a note to herself to apply before the deadline. I am always impressed when I see an organized young students who have plans and then work those plans.

If you are an undergraduate student and are looking for scholarships then you should not miss out on our 2012 topic. We are now in the process of accepting applications and the deadline is December 1, 2012. I would love to interview you this time next year!

Let’s see what you’ve got.

To read Cindy’s winning essay visit the Foreclosure.com Article Center right here. For more on the Foreclosure.com Scholarship Program, as well as to view the 2012 topic and eligibility/submission requirements, click here.

This is Halloween, this is Halloween …

While growing up, Halloween meant trick or treating in the cold windy evenings in rural Idaho, bobbing for apples at friends houses and eating candy to a point of feeling sick.

Now that I’m all grown up those traditions changed, but the fun never has.

Take a sneak peak at what is going on in our corporate headquarters, which is located in Boca Raton, Fla., in this creepy blog entry right here. My coworkers really get into the spirit of the season, so I decided to take you with me for a quick tour of how spooky it can be here at Foreclosure.com (a.k.a. Active Data Technologies!)

Department contests will be held later in the week for the best costumes, decorated work spaces and much more. Just all around fun!

Don’t let the ghosts or goblins scare you away from finding that great deal. BOO!

What is foreclosure? Foreclosure.com Director of Education, Linda Yates, talks about the foreclosure process in the video above, as well as how it’s different everywhere, depending on in which state you live and the laws (non-judicial or judicial) in place. From start to finish, Linda provides a high-level overview of the foreclosure process and the various stages included in it. She also explains the terms Lis Pendens, Real Estate-Owned (REO), Sheriff’s sale and other key words that are common in the foreclosure process.

This morning I was speaking with the head of our data team when he mentioned several listings that he has seen reduced in price by as much as 80 percent over the last year or so. Right now represents a truly great opportunity to find amazing deals.

Sometimes it just takes patience.

As we researched these particular deals, we noted that there were multiple offers throughout the listing process. If the offers were rejected, and the homes would be re-listed, the price would be reduced about six weeks after it hit the market again.

Patience and the discipline of patience is where money can be made, or saved, for that matter.

That blend of risk taking and waiting can only be achieved by practice and knowledge. First you need the knowledge and then the practice. The application once these two key ingredients are combined is where wisdom is gained.

Have you ever noticed that change both positive and negative occur line upon line and precept upon precept? Taking an action, even if it’s small, takes you in a direction. From there, you can always change course, but taking an action is where it begins.

Long-term perspective can be a fruitful practice and the virtue of patience is real.

To check out (and monitor) listings in your target market be sure to check out Foreclosure.com today. You can “save” properties of interest and watch them, as well as their descending prices, until you are ready to make your patient move.

When investing in real estate often times we don’t pursue our dreams because we feel like we don’t have the money to put toward making them a reality.

The great thing about distressed real estate, however, is there are different ways to invest. And there are several creative options that you can consider — such as bird-dogging — without touching your daily bank account.

Today, for example, I was asked to present about investing in foreclosures for a self-directed IRA company. A self-directed IRA is a great tool because you can determine how to utilize the fund and guide its path … just like you can with a smart real estate investment.

Real estate, therefore, is a great complement to self-directed IRAs.

As I mentioned earlier, going to work as a “bird dog” is a great way to start becoming an investor. All it takes is a keen eye and forward-thinking organizational skills to turnover the property (or properties) in the shortest amount of time for the most profitable amount (s).

A savvy investor — the person who would lend you the money to bird dog for him or her — is always open to a great deal. There is so much information out there that sometimes him or her misses the golden opportunity because he or she can’t see the forest through the trees.

That’s where you come in.

So don’t let your emotions about money stop you from moving forward. When there’s a will, there is a way